NEVER - EVER - GIVE UP!

[Karan]:  Bloody hell, what a day!  Not only is it Friday, but the kids break up for half-term today, other families are rushing off for their Whit' Week away, it's hot and I have been thwarted at every thwartation all day!  I will be glad when this bugger is over.

Just about everything that could go wrong today, has gone wrong.  I have been less than 50% productive in all the time I've been awake - which in itself feels like forever - and having little to show for my efforts, is enough to drive me crazy.

The whole week has been manic and we have achieved a lot, but still have a lot to achieve.  It would be so easy to walk away and do something that didn't always require so much effort, but nothing worth having is achieved easily; that much is obvious. 

When the going gets tough though you must dig in and never - ever - give up!  Do you like the cartoon?  Well, we all have to adopt the frog's aattitude when things look grim - at least the frog has a chance of survival, it may be a slim chance, but it's a chance.  If the frog gave in to its situation pictured here, it would almost certainly be game over for the frog, and Cuisses de grenouille on the menu for the heron (is that a heron?).

Motivation and an indefatigable will to succeed against whatever is thrown at you is the key, but how do you keep it all inflated to useful and helpful levels?  One device Ian and I use, to keep our spirits up when the hurdles seem insurmountable, is music.  We have various lists on our iPods, or CDs we listen to in the car and van, that help restore our faith in ourselves and life in general.  Some of the tracks are ancient, and will possibly make some of our peers smile knowingly from their first time out on vinyl, but they're still great, however old they may be.  Here is our recommended playlist, some of which are official IKD Anthems - see what you think, see how many you remember, and see how many will lift your spirits when you're trekking uphill through treacle, particularly the self-employed entrepreneurs.  I hope you enjoy them if nothing else, here goes:

> Rome Wasn't Built In A Day - Morcheeba - Parts Of The Process

> Working On It - Chris Rea - New Light Through Old Windows

> I Want It All - Queen - The Miracle

> All Fired Up - Pat Benatar - Wide Awake In Dreamland

> Hold On - KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic

> Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

> Hold On Tight - ELO - Greatest Hits

> Ready To Go - Republica - Republica

> Proud - Heather Small - Proud

> Rule The World - Take That - Beautiful World

And one last thing, in the words of the great Napoleon Hill: ...opportunity has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.  Perhaps that is why so many fail to recognise opportunity.